Former BBC Driver Charged With Sexual Abuse

A former driver for the BBC has become the first suspect charged under Operation Yewtree, a formal criminal investigation into the former Top of The Pops presenter Jimmy Savile.

David Smith, who drove for BBC personalities in the 1980s, is charged on five counts including being accused of committing buggery with a boy under the age of 16 in July 1984.

The Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement Wednesday that said Smith has also been charged with two counts of indecent assault and two offenses of gross indecency on a boy under the age of 14.

Each of these incidents relate to one alleged victim and are said to have taken place between June 1 and July 21, 1984.

Smith, 66, was arrested on Dec. 10, 2012, the CPS said.

He will appear at a central London magistrates’ court May 8 to face the charges.

Alison Saunders, the chief crown prosecutor for the CPS, said her service carefully considered the evidence gathered as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to Smith, who was employed as a driver at the time of the allegations.